Our normal breakfast consists of oatmeal for the adults and O’s and milk for the kids with fruit mixed in both for good measure (though usually not in mine). I wanted to change things up a bit and decided that making some pancakes would be a very good thing. The girls were ecstatic once they learned what I was making and we were all so excited to attack the little stack of circles. Our tummies were quite content and all the pancakes were devoured quickly.

I mentioned that I got myself a couple vintage goodies for a buck (thanks to my brother’s girlfriend faye for telling us a little vintage yard sale that occurs every sunday in L.A.) and this vintage wrap skirt was one of the things I picked up in the piles. I grabbed it, looked at it, hesitated, then tried it on and decided I liked the quirky parrots! Plus, not too much to lose for a buck right?!!

I had to smile for picture. Still can’t do the serious thing yet (this is a work in progress). And yes, I had to grab another little babe to join me in it too.

shirt: target

skirt: jet rag

shoes: none cause we don’t wear them inside the house

little girl: my womb

hello kitty tin purse: belongs to the little girl (gift from grandparents)

Autumn weather has yet to hit southern California (is there such a thing as fall weather here)? It isn’t too hot though, so I am thankful! I am really hoping for our little road trip cause I want to see what real fall is like. I have so many autumnal things I want to do in our little home, but time is going fast and I am not sure if we will have time to do them. It seems there is always a long list of other “to-dos” we want (or have) to do. Though for sure, we must do our annual Fall-elebration dinner to celebrate the new season.

What types of things do you do to celebrate the fall season?

We went tomato picking, in our backyard of course, and we came out with a basket full of tomatoes! Our favorite was the giant Dr. Wyche’s tomato!!!

You can see it in the basket, but that doesn’t even do justice to show really how big it was!

We chopped all the tomatoes, added some chopped onions, jalapenos, cilantro, with dashes of salt and squeezes of lime and we had a very good pico de gallo.

Even with all those tomatoes, our little salsa lasted two days. Just two days. You should have seen the original giant bowl that it was in! Chips and salsa make a good dessert. That’s Ben’s idea of dessert! My dessert is anything sweet, but I have no problem indulging in a very good salsa! What is your idea of a good dessert?

I mentioned on Friday that we were going to do some bread making for our friends who were going to come over for dinner and so I tried out this recipe. All I gotta say is fabulous focaccia indeed! My only tweak was to use whole wheat flour and I think that it turned out even better because anything with whole wheat is just better for your body, right? Makes me feel less guilty when I am indulging in a carb-fest!

On another different note, we had a bit of a scare last night. Ben was on the front porch reading, when he noticed a couple of guys fishing around our neighbors’ cars. His instincts told him something wasn’t right, so he went inside and called the police to report it. Just as he was talking on the phone, he looked out our 2nd floor window and saw the guys in our driveway snooping in our car. Ben immediately yelled at them and they took off. Unfortunately, the cops didn’t get them and we don’t have much information. It is such a frustrating situation. Praise God no one was hurt and nothing was taken (we figured out they were trying to steal gas from everyone’s tanks), but this kinda of thing is just sad and scary. It makes me so angry, but I need to remember that even those guys need God. Hmm… do you think it is possible that they smelled my focaccia baking and came looking for some?! I guess next time I will just have to leave it by the car for them.

p.s. did you know about all my giveaways?

I did some sketch book doodling yesterday afternoon. I love our yellow owl workshop paris stamps, they are just way cool! I totally want to collect them all!!!

I also ate some freshly picked tomatoes and basil with mozzarella… yum!

This crazy heat wave we have going on right now is leaving me feeling yuck! I am not a fan of this heat. 108°F is just crazy! I tell you, C-R-A-Z-Y!!! Oh please Autumn, can you come more quickly?

How is the weather like in your part of the world?

My best friend shared this super easy, sort-of ice creamish recipe with me and now I am sharing it with you!

ingredients:

frozen bananas

blender

whatever toppings your heart desires

1. Get some bananas, old ones work perfectly.

2. Chop up your bananas.

3. Freeze your bananas until completely frozen. I did mine overnight.

4. Stick in a blender.

5. Blend until all mushed and resembles the consistency of ice cream.

6. Add some toppings.

For my girls’ scoops, I put some honey and sprinkles and mine was topped with some crunched ferrero rocher.

7. Enjoy!

It definitely has a strong banana flavor, but it tastes yummy! Maybe next time I would add a scoop of vanilla before I blend it. I am sure there a lot more fun ways to add more to this recipe.

What are you snacking on this warm summer day?

p.s. last day for giveaway!

Ever since I made macarons for the first time for Brave’s birthday, which I am glad you all love as much as we loved preparing for it and celebrating it, I have been slightly obsessed with baking this confectionary treat. I am determined to get it down just right. Currently, I use this recipe and Emily’s tips. My weekend batch seemed to be better than the last, though they were shaped more like blobs than circles, and I don’t think that I put enough batter in my mounds. I have tons of homemade italian buttercream left over, so you can be sure that this week might yield more macarons. Not that we are already done with the batch I made, but I seriously want to be semi-pro at baking these pretty little cookies. I want them in all colors! I think they would make pretty pictures. Be ready for lots of macaron sharing…

Ben probably thinks I am crazy for wanting to bake more because of all the crazies that will be happening this week for my mom’s party on Saturday. Plus, I just got thrown into another mix of a project that needs to be tackled this week that has got me a bit in a frenzy! Anyone wanna help me clean my house?!! I had a freak out moment this morning and being on the computer isn’t helping with all that needs to be done. I can’t wait until next Monday when life returns back to whatever normal is and I have a bit more breathing room.

If you have tips for baking macarons please share! And if you want to clean my house… come on over!

p.s. i am behind on emails again, so if you are waiting for one… i will get to it eventually. promise.